Hello and welcome to this episode. Today I want to share how my concept of being rich has evolved throughout my life, with its roots in my low-income family background right until today, where I am a post-graduate with a career as a professional in one of the largest industry in Singapore.My earliest memory from young was my mum drilling into all her three children that our mission in life is to study very hard, do well in exams, get into university, graduate and find a good paying job. In our minds, that was the formula to reach my mum’s target for us and that is supposed to lead us to some “happily ever after’. It was a common notion in society to measure success with the 5Cs when I was young: having cash, owning a private condominium, having a high-flying career that earns me a good five-figure income every month, owning a flashy credit card and having a coveted membership in one of the most expensive country clubs in Singapore. I thought having made it in life was deeply intertwined with material things that I own.After I received my basic architecture degree, I wasted no time in getting an internship in one of the up and coming architecture practice. During the briefing just after our submission of our final year project, my heart sank in dismay when it was shared that the expected normal market rate of our allowance in the next ten months we would receive as an intern was eight hundred to one thousand Singapore dollars. Bearing in mind twenty percent of it will be automatically deducted from this pay towards my Central Provident Fund, also known as CPF which would be stowed away for my retirement. Coupled with the fact that most architectural practices are in town area, it implied pricier food options during lunch and long commute via public transport.I had to think of creative ways to stretch my dollars to last the month, cab fares to and fro my project sites that were undergoing construction and working late into the nights. Unfortunately for the construction industry and people working in the creative line, late nights rushing paperwork, competition submissions and project pitches to potential clients are common but we are not paid overtime. Sometimes we get time off, simply because we were too exhausted to function the next day. I had thought naively in my younger days that passion will sustain me throughout my career, but starting my internship, reality hit me. We were expected to dress professionally well as the lead of consultants, and we are constantly judged by our appearance, whether by the clients, Contractors or even sales person selling us kitchen appliance for use in our projects. I was a candle burning at both ends without enough money for my own use and savings and I was tired of all the overtime work where I wasn’t entitled to any extra compensation. There was no way I could even start paying off my student loan with my measly allowance. To satisfy the criteria of working as an intern in no more than 2 firms, each with a minimum tenure of five months, I knew I must act once the minimum tenure of five months was up in the firm. I knew I was a cheap labour compared to a full time staff but I was certain I was a good pair of hands. I demonstrated my willingness to learn the ropes and proved myself to be able to run projects with minimum supervision. I went up to my boss and asked for a pay raise. Or I would leave for another firm. I was quite confident I delivered value to the firm and that they would try to retain me. My bosses probably also thought it was a better bargain to give me a pay raise than go through the whole hiring process and pay more for a full time postgraduate that they have to train all over again anyway. So yes, I was given a fifty percent increment. Yes, that’s right, it’s probably the largest percentage of pay raise I ever received in my working professional life. While a fifty percent pay raise to one thousand and five hundred Singapore dollars might not be alot to many who are listening to me right now but it was an achievement to me as an intern.I owe it to me to stand up for myself and ask for what I wanted. From this I learned the idea of “Ask and thou shalt be given”. Because if you never ask for what you want, who will ever give it to you? This notion of asking for the amount of what you deserve continues to influence me throughout my career. I was never shy of asking for a pay that commensurates with what I am able to deliver.Fast forward to being freshly graduated after my Masters degree following the internship, I was thrust into the 2007 financial crisis with two student loans to pay off concurrently. It was an understatement to say my dreams of reaching the 5Cs quickly evaporated by the harsh realities of the job market within weeks. My industry was hit hard, projects dried up and hiring was tightened. I found work eventually in a small architecture practice. With an eye-watering starting pay, I worked out my numbers in an attempt to...
